Château, actuellement centre culturel de Valprivas

English translation

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History

The oldest known title concerning Valprivas dates back to 1341. Built in the 15th century, the castle underwent transformations in the 16th. The building presents itself as a medieval construction transformed by "enlightened" owners who endowed it, on the exterior, with careful Renaissance decoration. Painted decoration of the chapel executed in the early 17th century. A campaign of opening out bays was undertaken in the 18th century. Constructed originally on a square plan and flanked at the north-west and south-west angles by two large round towers, the castle was deprived in 1793 of its south-west angle with its tower. The main building and its two return wings surround an interior courtyard closed off by a gateway. Inside, the chapel, located on the ground floor, consists of a short nave with rib vault, separated from the choir by a wall of support topped with lattice screens. The choir is decorated, on its north and east walls, with mural paintings depicting Hell and the Resurrection. These are oil paintings on lime mortar, doubtless commissioned around 1632. The artists are believed to be Flemish, belonging to the second Lyon school, contemporary with the second Fontainebleau school.